Frank Dickinson was born in Blackpool and spent most of
his optical life in St Anne's,
Lancashire
.He travelled extensively and on
his second trip to the US
in 1939 to meet transatlantic contact lens pioneers such as Obrig and
Feinbloom,
he encountered Keith Clifford Hall.
Dickinson and Clifford Hall were some of the first
optometrists to fit contact lenses in the
UK
and in 1946 they collaborated on writing the first authoritative book to be
published in
England.Dickinson
wrote about the more technical aspects of fitting.
Soon after the
war, Dickinson
made his first visit to
South Africa
and in 1948 bought a practice in
Johannesburg, moving there with his family and becoming the country's first contact lens
practitioner. Even after the family returned to
England
he retained his connections, enjoyed the travel and wrote regular reports on
his visits. Throughout his life made a point of sharing his experiences and
research - the bibliography of his writings lists over 300 items. He was a
talented artist, a church organist and a fine pianist in a variety of styles. In
addition he was a popular lecturer and often in demand as an after-dinner
speaker.
Dickinson
is probably best known for the Microlens, which was a result of international
co-operation.He had been working on
making lenses smaller and thinner and found, at the 1951 Congress of the
International Optical League, that his old friends John Neill from the US and
Wilhelm Sohnges from Germany had similar ideas. They agreed to co-operate in
their research and the Microlens, a term coined by his wife Muriel, was the
result in 1953.
The lens, made from PMMA, was 9.50 mm in diameter with a
single posterior curve and a very small edge bevel. It was fitted some 0.2 to
0.3 mm flatter than flattest 'K' and was very much smaller and thinner than
anything that had previously been available.Later enhancements to the back surface design and modern gas-permeable
materials have given us the hard lens of today. The three-way collaboration also
resulted in the foundation of the International Society of Contact Lens
Specialists.
Dickinson
was President of the British Optical Association in 1961-62. He was awarded the
first Frederick William Herschel Gold Medal of the ISCLS in 1956; he received
honours from
America
, including Hon. DOS (
Chicago,1956), and from
Germany; and Hon. MSc (Bradford) from Chancellor Harold Wilson in 1972. There is a Frank Dickinson Collection
of contact lenses in the
BOA
Museum
in
London; a suite named after him at the Department of Optometry and Neuroscience, UMIST;
and his archives are held at the Wellcome Trust in London (GB/NNAF/P195850).A commemorative
plaque has now been placed close to the site of his practice in St Anne's Square.
An Introduction to
the Prescribing and Fitting of Contact Lenses, Dickinson
and Clifford Hall, London
1946.
See also Frank
Dickinson, Contact Lens Pioneer 1906-1978:, A Bibliography of Published Writings.
British
College
of Ophthalmic Opticians. 1981
